Page 73 - History-of-flooringLR

Previously, press drying of wood had only been carried out with exist; and they were able to save water by recycling. All in all, the
veneered wood with a 3–4mm thickness; using a 30mm thick piece press drying technique brought with it a 16–18% reduction in
of wood was quite a leap. Through trials and experiments, Juncker production costs as well as a stable floorboard with a uniform
and his team were able to produce a thinner stave than before, but appearance.
since it was almost free from irregularities in shape – the press drying
held it perfectly plane, the loss from processing of the raw staves The development of press drying is widely considered as the most
before they were joined to boards in the Lindermann machine was original contribution to the wood working industrial process
lower, compensating abundantly for the shrinkage in stave thickness. technology. It attracted attention all over the world and spurred a
They also found they were able to achieve a 50% reduction of the review of traditional perceptions of the interaction between water
variation in width in the boards; wastage of staves virtually ceased to and wood under high pressure and heat.
For what is now nearly a century, Flemming Juncker’s drive for
improvement and innovation succeeded in creating a sustainable use
for hardwood timber by converting it into a high-value product.
Today, Junckers flooring covers many hundreds of thousands of
square metres all over the world, all manufactured on the site of the
original sawmill in Køge outside Copenhagen. Junckers is the largest
manufacturer of solid hardwood flooring in Europe.

With thanks to Professor Morten Knudsen, Master of Forestry

01376 534 700
sales@junckers.co.uk
www.junckers.co.uk

The History of Flooring 73